England and Wales

26/3 Day 1 London to Bath
Monday was the first day of our Haggis "Full Monty" tour travelling round England, Wales and Scotland and we didn't waste any time getting the hell out of London...
Our stops today included the Uffington White Horse (big white horse picture on a hill side), Dragon Hill (where St George slew the dragon), Ashbury (for some old thatched roofed houses), timeless lacock, Avebury and its historic stone circles like Stonehenge and finally finishing in Bath. I'd already been to the baths from last visit so we went to the Botanic Gardens and took advantage of some cheap cocktails in our hostel...

27/3 Day 2 Bath to North Wales
Tuesday bought us another heavily misty day completely obscuring views but we powered on all the same. We crossed the Severn and Wye rivers into Monmouth getting a tacky photo over the river holding the Welsh flag with one foot in England and one foot in Wales... We also visited Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey, Hereford Cathedral (with Map of Mundi) and Ludlow Castle. We wrapped the day off with a walk over the Pontcysylite Aqueduct and our lodgings for the night were in a haunted farm house in the middle of nowhere...

28/3 North Wales to Windemere, Lakes District
Well - we made it through the night at a haunted house in one piece so got up nice and early to go check out Snowdonia. Once again we had heavy mist spoiling the views but could see enough to admire the natural beauty of the place. After this we drove on to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which is a town in Wales whose names converts to "St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool, and the church of St Tysilio near the red cave"... Once we realised we had no hope of ever actually being able to say the name of this place, we continued on to Conwy castle and tonight we are staying in a pretty little town in the Lakes District called Mindemere.
We'll be off to Edinburgh tomoro and hopefully I can write more then coz there's only one pc here and there's a queue... again...

And i'll get in early (and on the right date this time - 29th) and say Happy Anniversary to my folks... Miss ya's... Love ya's...

Dublin to London

Friday - Dublin to London
What a sad day... I've left the clean and lovely city of Dublin and country of Ireland for dark, dreary and dull London... I can tell you it wasn't a happy occasion getting on that plane and there was no surprises when I had to board two trains carrying a 2okg pack in peak hour in London to get to my hotel only to find I've paid good money to sleep in a dog box... Grrrr....

Saturday - London
I have absolutely no plans for this weekend except to recover from the hectic pace of the last four weeks. Might venture down to some markets tomorrow but am so over the crowds and truthfully I shouldnt be buying anymore junk as my pack is already way to heavy... =)

Its a little dissapointing to be back in London... I was getting used to the Irish lifestyle - especially loved that people couldnt smoke indoors... At the moment I'm sitting in my hotel loungeroom using the computer here and there's two people smoking like chimneys less than 3 metres away and by god it stinks... In Ireland you could go out to the pub, stay there all night and still smell fresh as a daisy... Here you can't even go out to dinner without your clothes stinking after 2 minutes...

I think a trip back to Ireland one day is definitely on the cards... The people are friendly, the streets are clean, the country is so beautiful... Jen - wanna come back with me???

Doolin to Dublin

Wednesday - Doolin to Dublin
The last day of another tour leaving another pretty little town with another not so pretty hostel... Anyway, our first stop today was a pretty little Fairy Ring on the way to Pol na Brone Dolmen on the Burren Plateau followed by a quick drive through Lisdoonvarna - home of the biggest Matchmaking Festival... We were told to walk clockwise around the Fairy Ring making a wish and at the end we had to thank the fairies in Gaelic. Don't ask me how to say or even spell what we said coz it was a mouthful but fingers crossed my wish comes true... =)



We stopped just before lunch at Clonmacnoise which is an ancient monastic settlement where St Keiron is buried and then wrapped our afternoon up at Lockes Whiskey Distillery where I had the privellage of being the tester to differentiate which one was which and as I've been told it's a sin to waste alcohol in Ireland I was all warm and fuzzy by the time we got back on the bus...

That was the last stop of our trip and we got back into Dublin on Wednesday night where some hasty goodbyes were said to ensure I got some accomodation for the night in the closest hostel... Fortunately about 10 of the others were also staying at the same place so we caught up for dinner and drinks in the pub around the corner...

Thursday - Dublin
Ah, the freedom of not having to get up and rush onto the bus!!! Managed to sleep in this morning and just pottered around Dublin today. I've booked a flight back to London for tomoro and will be there until Monday when I take off on another tour. This one will be England, Scotland and Wales followed by a quiet break in country Netherlands...

Tuesday - Killarney to Doolin

KILLARNEY TO DOOLIN
Yet another day of beautiful rolling green hills and mythical stories. I so love Ireland.
Today we drove to Dingle village and the Dingle Peninsula which is level with the Ring of Kerry and if you ask any Irish local they will tell you the peninsula is just as good, if not better. We checked out the Sleeping Giant (Finn McCool again) and the 3 Sisters, some ancient beehive dwellings (which once again predate Stonehenge) and the Westernmost point of Ireland. When we arrived at Coumeenole Beach we had to obey "tradition" and wet our feet in the ocean. It was fecking freezing but oh so nice to be back on a beach again!!!
Back in Dingle I made friends with their town mascot Fungie the Dolphin before we motored on to the famous surfing town of Lahinch.
After crossing the Shannon Inlet by ferry we arrived in Doolin and went straight up to the Cliffs of Moher just before sunset.
The more time I spend in this place, the harder I'm gonna find it to leave...

Dublin to Killarney

Well, well... here I am 3.15am in Killarney... I did try to update earlier but somehow dinner and the pub had a much stronger calling... So - please forgive me if I'm talking nonsense or jibberish due to the unseemly hour and my possibly high intoxication level...

Today was mainly a driving day but by some good stroke of fortune we seemed to vary between sunshine and snow all day... WOOHOO!!! Our journey involved a trip through the Rock of Cashel (St Patricks hangout) and the Blarney Castle... Yes - I kissed the good ol' Blaney Stone but I don't think it happens overnight...

Tonight we have been living it up in Killarney where the boy:girl ratio is 3:1 and I'm pretty chuffed to admit I had 2 marriage proposals tonight... As much as I love country boys, even a Lambourgini Tractor wont do it for me... =)

Somehow I managed to miss my folks marriage anniversary on the 19th... Sorry... Happy Aniversary Ma and Pa... Miss ya's... Love ya's...

Sunday in Dublin

Today was a super casual affair so while some of the 16 occupants of my room slept, others (including moi as I wasn't suffering a hangover) ventured out to go the Guiness Factory!!! After queueing for over an hour in the freezing cold wind, I'm sorry to report the factory is totally overated but at least I can say I went and the highlight was when we were having our complimentary pint and it started to snow!!!

That was pretty much it for today. I went shopping in Temple Bar in the morning and we didnt leave for the brewery til mid arvo. There's another room party going on tonight but I dont think it will last as long as last nights as we all need to be up and ready to get back on the bus at 8am tomoro...

On a different note, Ireland celebrated Mothers Day today so I'm sending a special hug out to my ma and all my surrogate mum's too. You all know who you are!!! MWAH xx

DERRY TO BELFAST, BELFAST TO DUBLIN

DERRY TO BELFAST
Once again I dont really have the time or resources to write up anything interesting as its St Pats nights 8.30pm and there's a room party going on upstairs... Might have to introduce them to Beerpong...

On Thursday we drove along the Antrim Coast covering Dunluce Castle, the Giants Causeway and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. Giants Causeway has an awesome historical/mythical story involving a giant called Finn McCool and you can just imagine how life was in Dunluce Castle so many centuries ago. Its so trippy thinking all this stuff happened so many years before Australia was even discovered!!!

Happy Birthday Jen for the 15th =) Love ya babe!!!

BELFAST TO DUBLIN
Happy Birthday to me... =)

First thing in the morning we took a Black Cab tour of Belfast going through The Falls and the Shankill giving us a better appreciation to "the troubles" plaguing Northern ireland and how these issues still effect their daily life. I've been so ignorant to these things before and feel ashamed not to have been aware of their dramas.

After leaving Belfast we bussed on through the Mountains of Mourne stopping at the Legananny Dolmen which is a 5000 year old tomb. This predates Stonehenge and the story involved in its creation is so romantic... Lunch was at Carlingford and then we dropped into Monasterboice - a monistic burial ground still used today covered with high celtic crosses. We then crossed the River Boyne and came into Belfast where our tour guide Karen has left us to our own devices until Monday...

Today both the entire bus and the entire pub sang Happy Birthday to me. This has gotta be the best birthday I've ever had!!!

DUBLIN - Saturday - *** St Patricks Day ***
Hmmm... there was a bit of a sleep in this morning considering the amount of shots partaken in last night... My head was very sore during the St Pats parade down the main drag and I had my first ever panic attack when I was nearly crushed and suffocated in the crowd afterwards... A couple of Bulmers later and all was sweet so we meandered down to the Woolshed. This pub was full of Aussies and Kiwi's and we managed to watch all three games of the 6 Nations before coming back to the hostel.

There's currently a room party going down while I do my laundry and for some reason this stupid computer wont let me access my emails so if anyone has wished me happy birthday for yesterday I'll thank them very much in advance. I miss you all!!!

Dublin to Derry

Back on the road again today with a new tour company and new travel buddies... I really loved it in Dublin last night and didn't think Northen Ireland could top it but boy was i wrong... Today we've been through Trim Castle (where some of Braveheart was filmed), Loughcrew (with ancient cairns older than Stonehenge), Enniskillin and Omagh and we've now stopped in Derry. The history in this place is so different from what we've been hearing about in Rome etc and alot of it is much more recent. I have to admit I've been ignorant of "the troubles" in this country but having had our walking tour guide give us a thorough history has really opened my eyes.

Tomorrow we are off to Belfast via the Giants Causeway and can't wait to see what other exciting adventures come out of it!!

London to Dublin

How nice was it to wake up this morning and not have to repack and climb into the bus?... Actually it was pretty weird not to have Matty waiting for us after brekky to take us to another beautiful place. But, it was nice to have a little sleep in and have some time in the morning to send some mail off before my tranfer cab arrived to take me to Gatwick Airport. And I re-iterate my statement about London not being a cheap place to stay... I payed £48 to send a 2.5kg box off... OUCH!!!

Robbie, Peta, Sally, Krystal, Jen, Jonny and Benny also stayed at the Globetrotters last night so we all said our goodbyes again this morning. Like me, most most of the crew are kicking on to other destinations and I wish them all the best of luck.

I'm in Dublin tonight staying in the heart of Temple Bar. My taxi driver from the airport gave me an interesting history lesson on the way in so I had a little wander round the streets looking at the sights he was telling me about and finding some dinner in a local pub. Dublin is a busy but pretty little place and I can see why people flock here. Could be worth returning here some day I think... =)

I'm still processing all the sights, happenings and emotions of the past few weeks. I don't know how the tour leaders or even the drivers can do this week in, week out without getting completely overwhelmed. Maybe after the fist couple of times the novelty wears off but I find that hard to imagine. There would always be something new to take in and the differing seasons, crews etc would still take it out of you...

My 8 day tour of Ireland starts tomorrow. I've been politely informed by Matty the other travellers are likely to be a bunch of screaming American teenagers on Gap break... EEEK... Thanks Matty... =) Now - its time for an early night to recharge and prepare...

TOPDECK Its all over... =(

It was with heavy hearts we boarded the bus this morning for another big day behind the wheel for Matty. First stop (after Macca's on the border) was into Brugges for some genuine Belgian waffles and chocolate. Matty then left us =( at Calais to catch the boat to Dover and then back to London.

I'll update more soon when I've had some more time to digest this tour. Everything has gone through so quickly and has blurred together so some time to ponder on the plane to Dublin tomoro will be great.

By the way - I'm off to Dublin tomoro to start my Ireland tour the next day...

TOPDECK Munich, Rhine Valley and Amsterdam

Friday - Prague to Munich
Yet again another beautiful city. Biggest highlight was seeing the Glockenspiel clock going off over Marienplatz and seeing the Salt and Pepper towers where the Devil stamped his foot.
Then it was time for dinner and drinks in the famous Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall!! Huge roast pork and Sauerkraut meal washed down with a couple one litre steins of beer made for a truly awesome night and one fat belly!!

Saturday - Rhine Valley
Oooh, another of the reasons for doing this tour!! Today we meandered through the stunning Rhine Valley and went through St Goar and Bacharach and stayed in an authentic 12 century castle!! Mum, I'm happy to say there were no ghosts in there and since there wasn't much else to do we were all in bed by 10pm...

Sunday - Amsterdam
Well I've finally made it!! And still in one piece after many long nights and painful mornings and Amsterdam was to be no exception... Our busy day started with the clogs and cheese tour before hcecking into our festy hostel and charging towards the Heinekin Brewery. Now pleasantly tipsy we had an evening walking tour through the Red District before heading into the "Moulin Rouge" for a live sex show... OH MY GOD!!! Definitely an eye opener here... It seems our tour company has a good "business" relationship with this seedy club and 4 of our unfortunate (??) fellow travellers and Robbie all got taken up on stage... Credit goes to Kristy for taking the first bite of the babana... Off to some nightclubs after this and for the first time in years I managed to stumble into bed at 7am, completely missing the bike tour at 9am... Oops =)
At lunch time I mosied from our festy hostel into the city with my first stop at the Anne Frank House. Very moving experience. I must admit I didnt know much about her story until now but I'll definitely be investing in a copy of her book when I have some luggage room...
The rest of the day was more moseying around the streets, checking out the sights and people watching. Its a busy little city but if I came back I think I'd like to see more of the country. At this stage I've seen so many churches and galleries and architecture that its time for a change in scenery...

TOPDECK Salzburg to Prague

We left Salzburg yesterday morning for another day of driving through beautiful Austrian country side. On the way we stopped at an old Concentration Camp. Sooo earie and sooo sad. We were all pretty quiet and reflective on the bus after that.

On a happier note... YEEHAH!!! Finally made it to Prague yesterday!! WOOHOO!! If there was somewhere I could come back to live it would be here. Its fabulous!!! Robbie gave us yet another of his informative night walking tours that ended in a cosy little downstairs pub where I gave some Absinth a go. Had two shots but didnt notice any side effects. Couldn't stomach a third though as its definitely not a tasty beverage...

Today was another free day and we've walked around exploring the city. Its soooo clean and breathtaking here. Jen, Lauren and I have been to the Hradcany Castle and saw the changing of the guards before crossing over Charles bridge and finding Robbie at the Astronomical Clock.

I think we'll be having an early night tonight as we're off to Munich tomorrow and I need to conserve my energy for the Beer Hall...

Thanks for the pic's Keiro... Tigger was obviously in good hands =)

PHOTOS!!!

I was gonna upload some photo´s today but I can´t seem to find my USB cable now so hopefully next time I have access to cheap internet I´ll have found it and I can show you some of the awesome things I´ve seen...

TOPDECK Rome, Venice and Salzburg

THURSDAY - FLORENCE TO ROME
On Thursday we left Florence and drove to Rome via Orvietto.
Orvietto is a pretty little town on a hillside whose residents seem to be of the older generations and if you're "lucky" enough to find the shop you can get a genuine Pumba Burger (also known as wild boar...). For some reason I wasn´t game enough to try that one...
After Orvietto we caught the train to the Coloseum and proceeded to walk through Rome for a bit of a look see.

FRIDAY - ROME
We backed yesterdays walking tour up by revisiting the sights we wanted to see again or missed the day before. Emma, Alex, Brendan and I visited the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, some Roman ruins and Palatino, ForoRomano, the Coloseum, Circus Maximus (from Ben Hur), the Mouth of Truth, Piazza Novona and St Peters - making a nice big circle around Rome.

All these places each have a special story and charm of their own... Makes walking round all day so worth it!!

Jen - I'm sorry to say but I haven't been snogging random Itallian men altho i must admit they're all rather handsome and very friendly if you're walking through their pick up joints like the Trevi... miss ya honey... love ya!!! MWAH!!

SATURDAY - ROME TO VENICE via Verona



I was looking forward to today as we were going to Venice via Verona and I wasn´t disappointed. Another georgous city!! Of course our first stop here was Juliet´s Balcony and they also have a Coloseum of their own. We then cruised the shops and got yet another Gelati before returning to the bus only to find our Mexican girl was lost in action. Two search parties and 45 minutes later we were on our way to Venice.



At 7pm our driver delived us to our Hotel in Venice where we promptly proceeded to have a rowdy room party and play beer pong til 3am... I know - not the best idea but we had awesome fun despite getting told off the next morning by the hotel and tour guide... Ooops... =)

SUNDAY - VENICE
How cool is this place?... Theres little bridges, gondalas and water everywhere!! So pretty!! After the mandatory gondala ride we were free to do as we pleased and despite feeling a little dodgy from the night before we still managed to catch a boat out to the Murano factory to see a horse get blown... a GLASS one for you dirty minded folks =)





Back into Venice and we visited St Marks Square and Basilica, Academia bridge and the Rialto bridge. Some of us also went to a place called Harry´s Bar which apparently is where Hemmingway used to go. In his time there he invented a drink called the Bellini which is a kinda peach flavoured champagne thing but costs €15 a pop... Approx AUD$30!!! If you´re ever there - dont bother with the drink - it´s not that nice...






There´s plenty of markets all round the Rialto and our mission was to find a Venetian Mask for the masquerade party that night. I got a sparkly red one but I don´t like my chances of getting it home undamaged... Anyways - we caught the water taxi back to the bus station and the bus back to the hotel just in time to get frocked for the ball... Another big night... I think there´s a pattern forming here.... =)





MONDAY - VENICE TO SALZBURG
Up early again to climb aboard the bus for another day of driving... We got into Salzburg at 2pm and while a couple went off on the Sound of Music tour, the rest of us were guided round the city by Robbie. Salzburg is a reasonably small city thats very clean and picturesque.






We wandered through Mirabel Gardens, past Mozart´s birthplace and saw the graves of the Seven Dwarves before heading up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress and going into the Marionette musuem. Every second thing here is all about the Sound of Music - even our hostel has a daily screening...




So far we´re just passed the half way point in our tour and I´ve been having an absolute ball in this part of the world. The tour guides and my fellow passengers are all fantastic folks and I´m so glad I made the decision to do this. Its hard not to fall in love with every place you go to and everyplace has its own uniqueness. Fingers crossed the second half is just as good!!!

TOPDECK Buongiorno from Florence

Another day, another fascinating city!! We pulled into Florence late last night and checked in before a night walking tour. Like most famous destinations in Europe, there is a bucket lot of history here and I think so far this has to be my favourite stop in Europe.




An early morning walking tour with our guide Robbie took us to a Leather Factory and Jewellers where I got some great retail therapy by purchasing a Nomination Bracelet. If you've seen these before you'll understand what I mean when I say I've put 10 flags onto this for the countries I have or will visit. Afterwards I met up again with Jen, Ben and Emma and we walked around Florence for most of the day today visting places such as the Ponte Vecchio, David, Da Vinci Museum, Santa Croce Church, The Duomo, Uffizi Gallery and some local markets.





Emma, Jen and I were planning on catching a Tuscan Sunset today but its been very overcast so unfortunately we'll be missing out on that. We did get a glimpse of one yesterday from the bus so that will have to suffice for now. This evening we'll be out somewhere for dinner before rejoining the rest of the crew for drinks somewhere.

Tomorrow we're off on the bus again to Rome stopping at the Orvietto and the Colloseum on the way. From what I've seen of Italy so far it will be an awesome day. Better charge the camera batteries =)

*** Jen and Rob *** You would be loving this!!! =)